Resistance Management to Insecticides and Bt Plants

A considerable body of literature has been published on resistance evolution to conventional insecticides and there are >500 cases of arthropod resistance to pesticides (http://www.pesticideresistance.com/). The diamondback moth has been a “leader” in evolving resistance to most classes of insecticides and has been a useful insect for studying insecticide resistance management (IRM). There is also a growing body of literature about the potential and actual evolution of resistance to Bt plants. Bt plants should be considered another form of host plant resistance in the traditional sense and, therefore, there they are subject to the same dynamics of resistance evolution. However, because the present Bt proteins are very selective and do not harm natural enemies, we are investigating the possibility that natural enemies may slow the evolution of resistance to Bt plants.

Listed below are a few of our publications in this area (see complete publication list above).